WHAT IT IS: Leon Bridges’ rise from his roots in Fort Worth can be traced to his savant-like ability to deliver self-penned songs that sounded instantly classic. Bridges’ unique sound, an impassioned reset of gospel-tinged soul, was adroitly captured via vintage production techniques by White Denim members Austin Jenkins and Josh Block. Critics are praising the newcomer for resuscitating soul-stirring R&B with an unblemished batch of original songs that—as NPR noted—reminds us “why gospel meeting soul worked so magically at the dawn of the 1960s…yet the nimble, precise, vocalization Bridges provides feels so fresh.”
ALBUM: Coming Home
RELEASE DATE: 06/23
SINGLE: “Smooth Sailin’”
TV: Fallon, CBS Saturday Morning, Conan
LIVE: Sold-out North American tour underway; Dec./Jan. tour dates in Australia; national spring tour announced 10/12, immediate sellouts at The Beacon, The Wiltern, Chicago Theatre; performing at Willie Nelson Gershwin Awards in Jan.
INTERNET: Featured in the Apple Music ad campaign; 3.3m Spotify streams and 500k video views for single; 8m+ cumulative video views
RADIO: Single impacted 10/19, debuted at #19; AAA adds at WRNR Annapolis, KRVB Boise, WCLZ Portland; Alternative add at WWCD Columbus; Dec. radio shows include KLLC, WTTS, KGSR, KRZB, WROX
PRESS: Maxim, Rolling Stone, N.Y. Times, L.A. Times, Complex, Fader, GQ, NPR Music (“This kind of perfection is always relevant”), more
BOOKING: Bobby Cory, Jeffrey Azoff/CAA
PUBLISHING: Sony/ATV
MANAGEMENT: Jonathan Eshak, Zeke Hutchins/Mick Mgmt